Material lock for tunnels



Feb. 13, 1940. l

S. M. GOCDER MATERIAL LOCK FOR TUNNELs Filed March 9,. 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 1N VENT OR.'

ATTORNEY.

Feb. 13, 1940. s, M GQODER 2,190,064

MATERIAL LOCK FOR TUNNELS Filed March 9, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORL- ATTORNEY.

i 3 SheetsSheet 3 INVENTOR:

ATTORNEY.

GOODER MATERIAL LOCK FOR TUNNELS Filed March 9, 1939 Feb. 13, 1940,

`Patented Feb. 13, 1940 UNITED sT TESA PATENT OFFICE 14 Claims.

In the digging of large timnels, such as subf ways for electric railways, sewers `and `water mains, the work of excavating must often be done in an atmosphere having Aa pressure of from f5 five to ftypounds per square inch greater than the outside atmosphere. Consequently, in order to maintain continuous pressure within the tunnel, air locks must be provided forthe ipassage of men and materials into and outfof thetunnel. The usual .manner of removing the excavated material from a tunnel is toconvey it in cars to an elevator shaft that lifts the cars 'to .the"sur-- face of the ground. These cars, both `when full V and when empty, mustbe passed through an air 15 lock;` a common expedient `being .to make the chamber in the air lock long enough to accommodate -a string of cars. Then, when double tracks are employed, it is possible :to have :a string of empty cars and a. string of full cars in the lock chamber at the same time.

Not only is therea considerable waste of compressed air whenever one of these locks is opened but, when a complete cycle in the operation vof a lock to-pass cars through the same. is takeninto consideration, it will be seen that'it is slow and costly. Thus, `beginning with '.the :moving of ra train of cars lled with `excavated 'material from the tunnel into the lock chamber, `thetracks through the' doorway rmust be removed and the door closed. A valve must then be Vopened to reduce the pressure within the lock to :that of the outside atmosphere. The door between the lock chamber and atmosphere `is then opened and tracks are laid throughithe open doorway. The loaded cars are then moved to the outside over these newly .laid tracks .and a. train of empties is run into the lock'chamber. `The tracks lleading through` the doorway to the outside are then taken up and the door closed. A valve lmust then be opened to admit compressed -air into the lock chamber and `edualizetl'ie` pressure between the same and the interior of the tunnel. The door on the tunnel side of the lock is .then opened, the tracks are relaid in the open door- 4'5 way, and the emptycars are run intolthe tunnel 'to beloaded with excavated. material. While the aforesaid cycle is being carried out, two cars at a time are usually rolled upon rlarge elevators and lifted far` enough above thecsurilo .loads into waiting trucks. These elevators reyquire as a preliminary rto the starting fof the 'tunnel itself, the sinking of aashaft of verylarge :diameter at Isomelocation which is'usually `quite .l

53 Adistant :from the" tunnel .'site; .involving .not .only

`face of the ground to permit them to dump their l proved method of .removing excavated material,

(c1. rs1-ss) Y the cost of the shaftwith its large elevators and the cost of digging laterally therefrom to the tunnel site, but also a veryconsiderableexpense incident tothe use of the land for the shaft.

s The present invention .has for .its primary f5 object to make it possible to move `excavated ymaterial from a tunnel subway orother excavation `below the surface'of the earth out `of the excavation in a simple `manner that doesaway with they aforesaid costly and time-taking exl0 pedients which are now commonly employed.

`In carrying out my invention, instead oi taking the excavated material out through the main' look between the tunnel and the outside, I cause it to ilow through'what may be termed an auto- 15 matic vair lock of its own. In its simplest form, myinvention contemplates the dumping ofthe excavated material into `a hole :prepared in the bottom or `the side of `the tunnel; the passage of the material through thehole being controlled 20 by a sealing device that prevents loss of enough compressed .air `to disturbfthe pressure. conditions within the tunnel. As'the excavated material leaves the tunnel, it may move by gravity'or be positively moved into-the lower end `of a well 25 located near the excavation and provided with suitable apparatus or mechanism-for raising the excavated material to the surface.

When there is no longer any rneed for `the .Well and the passage Yleading therefrom to the B0 tunnel, these are lled and the opening inthe bottom of the tunnelis closed. The well may be of small diameter because ,it need not provide .the present invention may be regarded as having rvfor` its object to permit the excavated `material `from a tunnel or the like to be successfully .raised to the surface through a well of -small cross sectional area lying near `the tunnel.

In view of the fact that a well andlitsconnec- `e5 tion'to the tunnel `canbe dug and prepared at a comparatively small cost, which is `negligible compared to the cost ofthe usual agencies required for `the-samepurpose, and `in view'of'the saving in cost'of operation, effected by `myim- .50

it is `quite feasible to abandon thedischarge ou't-` -let .and prepare another Awhenever `the-tinslnel has advanced `so far .that the transportationbf the material from the point at which the exca- 55` r2 'fr vating is being done to the dumping point becomes greater than the cost of a new outlet.

Therefore, viewed in another of its aspects, the present invention may be said to have for its object to make it possible to discharge the excavated material at points within easy reach of the advancing head of a tunnel, instead of requiring it to be conveyed throughout the entire length of the completed portion of the tunnel.

The various featuresl of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,y

wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical section taken on a plane transversely to a subway which is being built underneath a city street, illustrating my improved method of handling the excavated material; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, showing a fragment of the tunnel at the discharge outlet, as well as the combined air lock and materialmoving means in a different position than that in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3 of Fig. l; Fig. 4 is a side view of a mutilated horizontal tube or shell through which the excavated material travels upon leaving the tunnel; Fig. 5 is a side View of a movable plunger member slidable within the tube or shell of Fig. 4 to move excavated material through the latter and prevent any waste of air; Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 1, but on a much larger scale; and Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are sections taken respectively on lines 'L -ll, 8-8, and 9-9 of Fig. l, on the same scale as Fig. 6.

In the drawings I have illustrated my invention as applied to an ordinary subway Afor carrying railway cars below the surface of city streets and, for the sake of brevity, the detailed description will be confined thereto; it being -understood that when I refer t a subway I mean to include a tunnel of any kind in the construction of which the present invention would be useful.

Referring to the drawings, I represents the well of a completed section of a subway beneath the pavement 2 of a street; the oor of the subway being indicated at `3. At a suitable point in the subway there is left in the floor a hole t of considerable size, the same preferably having two opposed sides sloping downwardly and toward each other to produce a hopper effect. Underlying the floor, directly below the opening 4, is a horizontal tube or cylindrical shell 5, preferably Slightly larger in diameter than the width of the hole at the bottom. The member extends from a point somewhat inwardly from the bottom of the hole fl through the adjacent side wall of the tunnel and somewhat beyond vthe latter; the hole in the floor being preferably located close to one of the side walls. The top of the member 5 is cut away, as indicated at 5, as best shown in Fig. 9, to provide an inlet of at least the same cross sectional area as the lower end of the opening in the door'. The extreme outer end of the member 5 is closed by an end vwall to prevent earth from entering from the loutside and, as will hereafter appear, to insure against breaking the air seal with the member 5. The under side of the member 5 is out away near the outer end, as indicated at 8, to substantially the same extent asl at the top near the other end. v

Slidable within the tube or shell 5 is a compound piston composed of two similar parallel pistons 9 and II) connected together by spacing members Il whose outer faces preferably form part of the same cylindrical surface as the peripheries of the two pistons. The distance between the pistons 9 and It is about equal to the length of the excisions 6 and 8 in the member 5 so that when the compound piston occupies the position shown in Fig. 1, excavated material in the hole in the floor, as indicated at A in Fig. l, candrop down into that part of the tubular member 5 that lies directly below the inlet opening t in the latter and between the two pistons. If,

- now, the compound piston is moved toward the left inv Fig. 1, into the position indicated in Fig. 2, the material lying between the two pistons is moved by the latter directly over the discharge opening 8 and, if there be a free space below this discharge opening, into that space.

As best shown in Fig. 5, the pistons 9 and I0 are provided with packing rings I2 extending circumferentially oi and outwardly from the same; each of these rings forming a suiiiciently good seal between its pistons and any unmutilated portion of the tubular member 5 within which that piston may iind itself. It will be seen that in normal operation of the device one or the other oi the pistons is always surrounded by an unmutilated part of the member 5, so that the only air that can escape is that which is contained in the excavated material and that which can get past one of the piston sealing rings; both being of negligible value. The wall 'I at the outer end of the member 'l is so placed that in the event of a b-reak in the connection between the plunger and the air engine, the plunger cannot shoot outward far enough to allow the inner of the two pistons to move past the inner end of the opening 3 and break the seal.

As best shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the piston I0 has iixed thereto a long section I4 of a cylindrical shell of a diameter such as to make it a sliding fit within the tubular member 5. The length of the part I4 and its circumferential width are such that when the piston device is moved into the unloading position indicated in Fig. 2, the part I4 closes the opening 6 in the top oi the tubular member 5 and prevents material in the opening 1i from dropping down until the piston is again brought back to the position it occupies in Fig. l.

The piston device may be moved back and forth by means of any suitable motor which may be a simple air engine comprising a long cylinder I5 containing a piston IB whose rod Il extends out through one end of the cylinder and is there coupled to a short stem I8 projecting from the piston I5, underneath the baffle plate I4. This engine can readily be salvaged, along with the plunger, when the outlet with which it is associated has served its purpose.

Material may be brought to the discharge point by means oi suitable dump cars I9 running on suitable tracks 20 on the floor of the tunnel.

In order that the material brought over the discharge outlet 8 by the double piston may leave through that outlet, I form below the outer end of the tubular member 5 a chamber 2| having a bottom wall 22 that slopes downwardly as it recedes from the vicinity of the tunnel. The chamber 2| communicates with or opens into the lower end of a well 24 of fairly small diameter that may open down through the outer portion of a sidewalk adjacent to the street vor aroogoea sisting of a bucket 25 suspended from acable 2S whichrises to the top of a superstructure 21 registering with the well and thence over suitable pulleys 28 to a suitable hoisting engine, not shown. The parts are so proportioned that when thebucket is at the bottom of the well, its top is slightly below the lower end of the sloping wali l22 and near the latter. Consequently, whenever a load of clay or the like `is dumped down into the chamber 2|, at a time when the bucket is down, it slides down the inclined wall or face 22 and enters the bucket. The superstructure 2l rismade high enough vto permit the bucket to `dump its load automatically into a truck B orof sucha type that the plunger operates continuously, with the assurance that the material moved by it will be taken away. So, also, there must be no delay in lling trucks by which the excavated'material is `:finally hauled from th vicinity of the tunnel. l l v r It will further be seen that I am able to avoid the long delay and expense incurred in sinking a shaft thirty or more feet in diameter at some available spot, which may be far from the tunnel location and can perhaps be obtained only by paying a high rental,v and digging a special tunnel to the point wherethe desired tunnel is to start, before actual work on the lattercan begin.

In other words, by my invention I am able: to avoid the long delay in starting work on the tunnel itself, after actual .digging has actually` started, `which often occurs in large cities, and the great expense caused by the delay and the preliminary construction and excavation which become unnecessary under .my method; to clear away material as it is excavated .and without Waiting until an air lock may be opened; to reduce the distance through which the excavated material must be hauled while underground; and to effect aconsiderable saving in the amount of compressed air needed to maintain-the'required pressure in the tunnel. l

`It should perhaps be noted that the provision made in the illustrated form of my invention for salvaging the air engine and ythe reciprocable plunger comprises an opening inthe floor above the engine. This opening may be of the same width, lengthwise of the tunnel, as the'opening 4 and may, in effect, be a continuation of the latter. However, the opening I3 in the floor above the engine and the opening 4 are conu veniently separated'by a floor fragment 23 which serves to provide a setting for the tubular member 5. After the engine and the plunger are removed, the openings# and 23 may be filled in while the tubular member 5 remains in place.

It will be understood that in its broad aspects the invention is not confined to a particular lo-` cation of the outlet in the tunnel wall, it being sufficient that the outlet be at such a level that the excavated material may successfullyy be fed into thesame.' Thus,- lwhile "an opening in the floor `permits material to be dumped into the same from cars runnning ontracks laid on the floor ofthe tunnel, it makes it necessary to have a welldeep enough to extend considerably below the bottom ofthetunnel. An outlet higher up may be more suitable for other 4material-delivering means, whilepermitting the use of a shal-` material from the outside into the tunnel. 'Ihus,

for example, mixed concrete or the solid constituents thereof maybe brought into ythe tunnel in this manner.

I claim: y 1. Means for removing exacavated material from a tunnel comprising a well extending from l the surface of the ground at any desired distance from the tunnel to a point below the level of the` bottom of the tunnel; material-conveying means in the well to raise material entering the lower end of the well to the surface, `a passage extending from the lower end of the well into the tunnel; and means, including a combined materialtransfer device and air lock, to move material from the tunnel end of the passage into the lower end of the well.

2. The method of removing excavated material from along tunnel in the digging ofthe same, which consists in digging a series of wells distributed along and located at any desired dis'- tance from the tunnel, each Well extendingto a depth below the bottom of the tunnel, creating a passage leading from the lower end of each well up intothe tunnel as the construction and the l latter progresses; .operating in conjunction with each passage a combined material-transferring I and` passage sealing means to move toward the corresponding well excavated material dumped into the tunnel end of the passage,and conveymg the excavated material to the top of thewell.

1 3. Means for removing excavated material from a tunnel comprising a well extending from the surface of the ground at any desired distance from the tunnel to a point below thelevel vof the bottom of the tunnel; material-conveying means in the well to raise material entering the `lower kend of the well to the surface, the tunnel end of the passage into the lower end of the l well. l l

4. The combination with a tunnel'that is being excavated, of a well extending from the top of the ground to a level considerably below Athe bottom of thetunnel, the well being connected to the tunnel by a passage opening into the `latter throughthe level of the bottom thereof, a conveyor in the well for elevating material, and means in the passage to receive excavated material deposited in the tunnelend and move `such material toward the well and discharge it while sealing the passage 'sufciently to rprevent the escape therethrough of objectionable amounts of air when the air in the tunnel is .under pressure greater than that of the outside atmosphere. y 5. The combination witlifa tunnel that is being excavated, of a well exending from the top of the ground to a level considerably below the bottom of the tunnel, the well being connected to the tunnel by a passage opening into the latter through Athe level of the bottom thereof, a conveyor in the well for elevating material, and means in the passage to receive excavated material deposited in the tunnel end and move such material toward the well and discharge it while sealing the passage sufficiently to prevent the escape therethrough of objectionable amounts of air when the air in the tunnel is under pressure greater than that of the outside atmosphere, the passage having at its outer end a downwardly inclined bottom wall in position'to receive the discharged material and guide it to the conveyor.

6. The combination with a `tunnel that is being excavated, of a well exending from the top of the ground to a level considerably below the level of the bottom of the tunnel, a material-elevating conveyor in the well, the well being connected to the tunnel by a passage opening into the latter through the bottom thereof and so positioned 1 that material entering that section adjacent to the well flows by gravity into the conveyor, a horizontal reciprocable plunger fitting slidably in that section of the passage below the opening into the tunnel and comprising two `pistons spaced apart from each other in the lengthwise direction to provide between them a materialreceiving chamber open at the top and at the bottom, and means to shift the plunger from a position in which material may drop down into said chamber from within the tunnel to a second position in which the material may drop from said chamber into the firstementioned section of the passage. I

'7. The combination with a tunnel that is being excavated, of a well extending from the top of the ground to a level considerably below the level of the bottom of the tunnel, a material elevating conveyor in the well, the well being connected to the tunnel by a passage opening into the latter through the bottom thereof and so positioned that material entering that section adjacent to the well flows by gravity into the conveyor, a horizontal reciprocable plunger fitting slidably in that section of the passage below the opening into the tunnel and comprising two pistons spaced apart from each other in the lengthwise direction to provide between them a material-receiving chamber open at the top and at the bottom, and means to shift the plunger from a position in which material may drop down into said chamber from within the tunnel to a second position in which the material may drop from said chamber into the first-mentioned section of the passage, said plunger having at one end part that closes the opening in the bottom of the tunnel when said plunger is in said second position and until the plunger is again retracted far enough to cause the piston at the other end tofform a seal within the passage.

8. The combination with a tunnel'that is being excavated, of a well extending from the top of the ground to a level considerably below lthe level of the bottom of the tunnel, a material elevating conveyor in the well, the well being 1 connected to the tunnel by a passage opening into the latter through the bottom thereof and so positioned that material entering that section adjacent to the well ows by gravity into the conveyor, a horizontal reciprocable plunger fitting slidably in that section of the passage below the opening and an air engine located below the floor of the tunnel to shift the plunger from a position in which material may drop down into said cham-- ber from within the tunnel to a second position in which the material may drop from said chamber into the first-mentioned section of the passage.

9. The combination with a tunnel that is being excavated, of a well extending from the top of the ground to a level considerably below the level of the bottom of the tunnel, a material-elevating conveyor in the well, the well being connected to the tunnel by a passage opening into the latter through the bottom thereof and so positioned that material entering that section adjacent to the well ows bygravity into the conveyor, a horizontal cylindrical shell forming the inner section of the passage, said shell having in the top an opening registering with the opening in the bottom of the tunnel and an opening in the 'bottom above the first-mentioned section of the tunnel, a horizontal reciprocable plunger fitting slidably in said shell and comprising two pistons spaced apart from each other a distance less than the distance between the said openings in the shell, to provide between them a materialreceiving chamber Open at the top and at the bottom, and means to shift the plunger from a position in which material may drop down into said chamber from within the tunnel to a second position in which the material may drop from said chamber intoI the first-mentioned section of the passage.

l0. The method of removing excavated material from a long tunnel in the digging of the same, which consists in digging a series of wells distributed along and located at any desired distance from the tunnel, creating a passage leading through a wall of the tunnel into the lower end of each well as the construction and the latter progresses; operating in conjunction with each passage a combined-material-transferrng and passage sealing means to move toward the cor responding well excavated material dumped into the tunnel end of the passage, and conveying the excavated material to the top of the well.

1l. Means for removing excavated material from a tunnel comprising a well extending from the surface of the ground at any desired distance from the tunnel to a point below the level of the top of the tunnel; material-conveying means in the well to raise material entering the lower end of the well to the surface, the tunnel having a hole in a wall above the bottom ofthe well, there being a passage extending from the well to said hole and means, including a reciprocable material-transfer device slidable in said passage for alternately receiving material through said hole and closing communication between the latter and said passage, to move material from the tunnel end of the passage into the well.

12. The combination with a tunnel that is being excavated, of a well extending from the top of the ground to a level considerably below the top of the tunnel, the well being connected to the tunnel by a passageopening into the latter through a wall thereof, a conveyor in the well for elevating material, and means in the passage to receive excavated material deposited in the tunnel end and move such materialv toward the well and discharge it while sealing the passage suiciently to prevent the escape therethrough of objectionable amounts of air when the airin top of the ground to a level considerably below 3the top of the tunnel, the Well being connected to the tunnel by a `passage opening through a Wall thereof, a conveyor in the well for elevating material, and meansin the passage to receive excavated material deposited in the tunnel end and move such material toward the well and discharge it While sealing the passage sufliciently to prevent the escape therethrough of objectionable amounts o-f air when the air in the tunnel is under pressure greater than that of the `outside atmosphere, the passage having at its outer end a downwardly inclined'iittom wall in position to receive the discharged material and guide it to the conveyor. t

14. Means for removing"V excavated 4material from a `tunnel comprising a'- bore extending from the surface `of the ground atany desired dis# tance from the tunnel to a point below the level of the bottom of the tunnel; material-conveying means in the bore to raise material entering the ylatter to the surface, a `passage extending up'- Wardly from the bore into the tunnel; and means, t

including a combined material-transferrdevice and air-lock, to move material from theftunnel t end'of the passage into thebore.

sETH M. GooDER. 

